1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns data processing and medical technology and in particular concerns a method, a system, and a storage medium encoded with a computer program for designing user interfaces for complex medical technology apparatuses such as, for example, magnetic resonance tomography systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A number of settings and configurations that require different user interfaces dependent on the respective application are necessary to control a complex system such as a magnetic resonance tomography system. If one envisions the number of possible applications for a magnetic resonance apparatus (for example sequence techniques, post-processing applications, etc.) that each require different user inputs as control elements for the application (such as, for example, time specifications, details for the post-processing steps, upper limits and lower limits, etc.), it is clear that many parameters must be presented on the user interface. The conventional representation can be very unclear because parameters that are not of importance for particular application still are shown. A conventional user interface for the presentation of MR measurement or post-processing parameters is essentially static and primarily shows a superset of all parameters available in principle with regard to the MR apparatus. As is known from other systems in the prior art, respective parameters can be displayed b a manner known as parameter cards. In connection with an MR apparatus, multiple hundreds of parameters that are distributed across 25 parameter cards would have to be displayed. Surveying the displayed parameters is therefore a very time-intensive and error-prone process and overall results in a very laborious operation. Each application that should be executed in connection with the MR apparatus requires different parameter sets. In conventional systems it has not been possible to adapt the user interface to the respective application and to display, in an ergonomically reasonable arrangement, only the parameters that are relevant for the respective application. For example, a particular application (such as angiography) requires only a few specific parameter inputs as control commands by the user, but these are conventionally scattered on many different cards. Most other parameters on these parameter cards could be disregarded for this specific case.
Methods for adaptation or modification of user environments or user interfaces are known.
EP 0 801 342 B1 teaches a method for the adaptation of a user environment solely on the basis of a geographic position in order to be able to display matching display symbols in the user environment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,596,702 discloses a method for common usage of user interfaces through software applications in that existing user interfaces are modified only with regard to uniform graphical design and uniform functionality.